Merkel slams 'mud-slinging' anti-Islam demo

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned people against playing into the hands of xenophobes hours before an 'anti-Islamization' march in Dresden on Monday evening.

A weekly "Europeans Against Islamization of the Occident" (Pegida) march is expected to draw more participants than ever before on Monday night as politicians dither over how to deal with the growing movement.

"Of course there's freedom to demonstrate in Germany," Merkel said in Berlin on Monday. "But it's no place for agitation and mud-slinging against people who come to us from other countries.